Thread-rolling machine



NOV. 4, 19 30. s SWANSONA 1,780,608

THREAD ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTOR Nov. 4-, 1930. s. A. SWANSON THREAD ROLLINGMACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1928 s Sheets-Sheet 3 ATTORNEYS Nov. 4, 1930. s. A. SWANSON 1,780,503

THREAD ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 Nov. 4, 1930. s. A. SWANS ON THREAD ROLLING MACHINE Filed Aug. 29, 1928 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 I INVENTOR Z QW WW AT roRNEYs Patented Nov. 4, 1930 I UNITED STATES S AN nueusr SWANSON, on NEW YORK, 1v. Y.

THREAD-REJLLING MACHINE v Application filed August 29, 1928. Serial No. 302,725.

My invention more particularly relates to a rotatable thread rolling machine.

My invention consists of certain novel parts and combination of parts, particularly i pointed out in the claims.

The following is a description of a thread rolling machine embodying my invention in the form at present preferred by me, but it will be understood that various modifications and changes may be made therein,

without departing from the spirit of my invention and without exceeding the scope of my claims.

My invention will best be understood by reference to the accompanying drawings in which Fig. 1 is a side view, partially broken away and in section, illustrating a thread rolling machine embodying my invention; Fig. 2 is a plan viewv thereof; Fig. 3 is a ver tical sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view taken on the line 44 of Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is a plan view, partially broken away and on an enlarged scale, of certain of the parts shown in Fig. 2; Fig. 6 is a fragmentary vertical section taken on the line 6-6 of Fig. 5;

Fig. 7 is a sectional plan view taken on the line 7-7 of Fig. 8; Fig. 8 is a vertical section taken on the line 88of Fig. 7; Fig. 9 isa side view of the rotary .die; Fig. 10 is a side view ofone of the stationary dies; Fig. 11 is a sectional view taken on the line 1111 of Fig. 5, and showing the groove in which the finished screws are received; Fig. 12 is a plan view of a member provided with a tongue for engaging and forcing the screw blanks into position between the dies; Fig. 13 is aside view of Fig. 12, and Fig. 14 is an outer side view thereof.

to Like reference characters indicate like parts throughout the drawings.

Referring now to the drawings, 10 is a bed plate to which is secured, as by bolts 101 (Fig. 2), a standard or frame 11, preferably 5 circular in form. The upper end of the standard 11 is preferably enlarged slightly, as at 12, and is provided with a recess 13 in which is received a stationary bearing member 14 provided with an inner cylindrical 9 bearing surface as at 141.

bevel gear 151, secured to the shaft and which A shaft 15 is preferably vertically disposed. The lower end of the shaft is provided with a suitable bearing,.here shown as a roller bearing, comprising rollers 16 (see Fig. 4) -mounted in a race 161 which is in turn supported in a member 17 provided on its upper side with a recess, said member in turn being supported on a second standard 18 secured to the bed plate 10 as by bolts 181. The position of the recessed member 17 and, therefore, the position of the shaft, may readily be adjusted by a bolt 19 passing through a transverse portion 182 of the standard 18.

The upper end of the shaft -15 is secured to the rotary bearing member 20, the outer 1 surface of which engages the inner cylindrical bearing surface 141 of the stationary bearing member 14. The. rotary bearing member is recessed at its inner portion as at l 21. A cover plate 22 is clamped to the stationary member 14 as by bolts 30 (Fig. 4). The cover plate is provided with a downwardly extending central portion 23 which is received in the recessed upper portion 21 of the rotary bearing member 20. The cover plate is in turn provided with a recessed portion on its upper face.

A rotatable die 24 is secured to the upper end of the shaft 15 which may be rotated by any suitable means, here illustrated as a is in turn driven by a' bevel pinion 152 secured on a shaft 153 which may be driven by any suitable means such as an electric motor, not illustrated, mounted on alaterally projecting arm 154 which may be secured to the-second standard 18 (see Fig. 1). The outer circumferential face of the rotatable die is provided with suitable inclined grooves as illustrated in Fig. 9, and the stationary die or dies 25, which are here shown as two in number, are located adjacent to the working face of the rotatable die, a tapering space being provided between the two as illustrated in F ig. 5. The stationary dies which are diametrically located in the embodiment illustrated in Fig. 2, are secured in position by respective clamping members 26. The stationary dies are located in a recess in a ring 27, and the outer end of the clamping membe made if desired. A race 32 (see Figs. 2,

4, 5 and 6) of well-known construction is provided for transferring the blank screws from a hopper, not illustrated, to a position adjacent to the entering end of the space between the rotatable and a stationary die. It will of course be understood that as many races will be provided as there are stationary dies. The race is of a well-known form and comrises spaced plates 321 and 322 as shown in Fig. 5, the space between the plates permitting the portions of the screws which are to be received between the plates to pass therethrough and hang vertically downward, the heads of the screws engaging the two plates. The blank screws are preferably fed by gravity.

Means are preferably provided for positioning the blank screw that is located adjacent the entering end of the space between the rotary and the stationary die. Such means comprises an L-shaped member 33 (Figs. 5 and 6), a downwardly extending portion 35 of which is secured to a shaft 34, as shown in Fig. 6, which shaft has its bearing in a stationary member. The shaft 34 is surrounded at its outer end by a coil spring 37 which urges the downwardly extending portion 35 towards the blank screw, which may be located adjacent to the entering end to the space between the two dies. The movement of the downwardly extending portion 35, however, is limited by a set screw 38 passing through an opening in the horizontally extending portion of the member 33 and engaging a stationary member, thereby permitting the exact adjustment of the movement of the downwardly extending portion of said member and accuratel adjusting the position of the blank screws liefore entering the dies.

In accordance with my invention, means are provided for forcing the screws successively, after leaving the race, between the dies. Such means comprises an oscillatable shaft 39 (Figs. 3 and 5), to the lower end of which is secured an arm 40 which may be, if desired, forged integrally with the shaft. The arm 40 is preferably provided with a member 41 which engages cam members 42 in the form of a continuous ring, secured in the bottom and the outer side of the recess 21 in the rotary bearing member 20, as shown in F igs.'4 and 5.

Each portion of the cam member increases in thickness, the one increasing quite rapidly from a point 44 (Fig. 5), counterclockwise. At the point 45, the cam is formed with an abrupt change which causes the member 41, which is continuously forced against the cam by means which will be directly described to suddenly oscillate the shaft 39. The 0t er half of the cam ring is formed in the same manner as the one just described. To the upper end of the shaft 39 is secured, as by clamps, an arm 47 preferably provided at its outer end with an enlarged portion 48, which is formed on its lower side with a recess to receive a spring 50 which is interposed between an end wall of the recess and a stationary member 51 which is secured in a stationary part of the machine. It will thus be seen that the spring 50 continuously tends to rotate the shaft 39 in a direction to cause the tooth 41 on the arm 40 to engage one of the cams. The inner end of the arm 47 is preferably bent downwardly, as illustrated in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, and the downwardly bent end is provided with a radially extending hole 53 in which is received a shaft 54 radially movablewith re spect to the axis. A second vertical shaft 55 extends upwardly through an elongated opening 56 in the lower portion of the arm 47, as indicated in dotted lines in Fig. 5. This shaft also extends vertically throughnn opening in the shaft 54 and into the upper portion of the arm 47. Portions or sections of the ring 27 are provided at their lower sides with dovetailed grooves 57, as best shown in Figs. 3, 4 and 6, in each of which is received a block 58 pivoted on the shaft 55 and having a dovetailed portion engaging the corresponding groove in the ring 27. The blocks or members 58 are secured in position by members 59 secured on the upper surface of the ring 27, and having an inwardly extending dove-tailed portion 60 which engages the upper dovetailed edge of the block or member 58, as best illustrated in Fig. 6. The ring.27 may be secured in position by screws 61 passing through the lower portion of the cover plate 29, as shown in Fig. 3.

A generally L-shaped member, as viewed in cross-section and as illustrated in Fig. 12, is pivoted on the vertically extending shaft 55, and is provided with a horizontally extending arm provided with an elongated opening 64 as shown in Fig. 14. The member 62 is also provided with a tongue 65 which is adapted to engage a screw blank which may be located adjacent to an entering end of a space between the rotary and stationary dies.

The operation of rolling threads on screw blanks will-readily be understood from the foregoing description and is as follows:

The screw blanks from a hopper, not illustrated, are fed to the race 32 in a known and desired manner, and moved downward by gravity, the heads of three of such screws be- '2 ing shown in engagement with each other in Fig. 5. The screw heads are received by the spaced plates 321 and 322 of the race while the portions of the screw blanks on which the threads are to be rolled, are suspended downwardly. The innermost blank, after the contracted portion thereof which is to receive the screw thread has left the race, is retained by the head engaging the ends of the plates 321 and 322 and the stationary die 24. The screw blank is held in the correct position by the mechanism comprising the pivoted member 3;

During the rotationof the bearing member and the parts carried thereby, including the cam member 42, the member arm rides along the cam on one of the cams formed on the cam member 42. For example, it may ride counterclockwise from the point 44 to the point 45, when the arm will be suddenly rotated counterclockwise as viewed in Fig. 5, when the member 41 rides down the abrupt incline 46 to the thin portion of the cam ring. The spring 50 thereby oscillates the shaft 39 and causes the tongue on the member 62 to engage one of the screw blanks and force the same into the entering end of the space between the rotatable die and tongue 65 may follow the screw blank somewhatinto the space between the two dies, but as the tooth 41 again rides along the next cam surface of the cam member 42, it will be withdrawn from the space and into position to permit the next screw blank to ride by gravity into position to be engaged thereby.

e foregoing operation-of the arm 47 is indicated in Fig. 5, where the full line position of the arm 47 shows the position occupied thereby prior to forcing one of the screw blanks into the space between the rotatable and the stationary dies, while the dotted line position thereof indicates the position occupied after the tooth 41 has ridden over the abrupt incline 46 of the cam surface.

During this time, the described pivotal connections between the arm 47 and the dove-tailed block 58 permits the end of the arm and the block to move 1 in different arcs, the block of course following the dove-tailed groove in one arc, while the end of the arm moves around the shaft 39 as a center, and thereby describes a different are. During this operation, the shaft 54 is free to move in and out through the arm 47 in the manner described, while the oscillation of the block 58 in the dove-tailed groove causes the tongue 65 of the member 62 to engage the screw blank and'force it into the space between the two dies. It will further be understood that when the tongue 65 forces the screw blank into position between the dies, the spring 37 permits rotation of the shaft 34 and the removal of the downwardly extending finger 35 out of the way of the screw 41 on the stationary die. In fact, the

it will be observed that working face located blank. When the stationary. position between the two dies, it is received in an annular groove 66 formed in the upper surface of the rotatable bearing 20, said groove being inclined from an upper portion 661, as indicated in Fig. 11, to a lower portion 662 communicating with an opening 67 which extends through the rotary bearing member thereby carrying the screws through the bearing member. After passing through said openings 67, the screws are receivedin an annular trough 68, the bottom of which is preferably inclined from higher portions to lower portions, as will be clear from the various views, the lowest portions of the trough communicating with chutes 69 which convey the finished screws from the machine.

It will be apparent that, in accordance with my invention, the heavy radial thrust exerted between the two dies is taken up'between the surfaces of the rotatable bearing member and the stationary bearing member, and is substantially uniformly distributed therethrough. This is accomplished because of the fact that the dies are located between the the screw reaches the end of die and is ejected from the projections of the upper and lower limits of said bearing surfaces, the dies being located in a depression in the cover plate 29. Stating the matter in another way, the dies are located between projections of the upper and lower surfaces of the stationary bearing 14. It will be observed that the rotatable die is secured on the shaft 15 at a point near the rotatable bearing member 20, and that the thrust re- .ferred to is transmitted from the rotatable die through the shaft to the rotatable bearing member.

Another advantage of the described invention, which will be apparent to those skilled in the art, is that no projecting parts (with the exception of the race) are'located on the top of the machine.

I claim:

1. In a ble shaft, vided with an inner cylindrical bearing surface, a rotatable bearing member secured to said shaft and provided with a cylindrical bearing surface adapted to engage the hearing surface of said stationary bearing memher, a rotatable die secured to said shaft, a complementary stationary die having its adjacent to said rotatable die, said rotatable bearing member bein provided on its upper surface beneath the space between said dies with inclined grooves for the reception of screws from the machine, and openings communicating with the lowest portions of said grooves and extending through said rotatable bearing member for conducting the finished screws from the dies.

2. In a thread rolling machine, a rotatable shaft, a stationary bearing member provided thread rolling machine, a rotataa stationary bearing member prowith an inner cylindrical bearing surface, 3

a rotatable bearing member secured to said shaft and provided with a cylindrical bearing surface adapted to engage the bearing surface of said stationary bearing member, a rotatable die secured to said shaft, a complementary stationary die having its working face located adjacent to said rotatable die, said rotatable bearing member being provided on its upper surface beneath the space between said dies with inclined grooves for the reception of screws from the machine, and openings communicating with the lowest portions of said grooves and extending through said rotatable bearing member for conducting the finished screws from the dies, and an annular stationary trough located beneath the lower ends-of said openings for the reception of the screws.

3. In a thread rolling machine, a rotatable shaft, a stationary bearing member provided with an inner cylindrical bearing surface, a rotatable bearing member secured to said shaft and provided with a cylindrical bearing surface adapted to engage the bearing surface of said stationary bearing member, a rotatable die secured to said shaft, a complementary stationary die having its working face located adjacent to said rotatable die, said rotatable bearing member being provided on its upper surface beneath the space between said dies with inclined grooves for the reception of screws from the machine, and openings communicating with the lowest portions of said grooves and extending through said rotatable bearing member for conducting the finished screws from the dies, and an annular stationary trough located beneath the lower ends of said openings for the reception of the screws, said trough being provided with inclined bottom portions, and chutes leading from the lowest portions of said inclined portions.

4. In a thread rolling machine, a rotatable shaft, a stationary bearing member provided with an inner cylindrical'bearing surface, a rotatable bearing member secured to said shaft and provided with a cylindrical bear ing surface adapted to. engage the bearing surface of said stationary bearing member and formed on its upper side with a recess,

a fixed member secured to said stationary bearing member and having a portion projecting. into the recess of said rotatable hearing member, a die fixed to said rotatable shaft, and a complementary stationary die mounted on the portion of said fixed member which projects into the recess of said rotatable bearing member.

5. In a thread rolling machine, a rotatable shaft, a stationary bearing member provided SWAN AUGUST SWANSON.

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